Slime Reincarnation

Chapter 100: Getting Information from a Sharp Operator at the Commercial Guild

"Kyupi!"

With a loud clattering sound, the Slime Sweeper came back.

"There, there, good job."

"Kyupi!"

I petted the Slime Sweeper as it returned in high spirits. Maring chan looked startled.

"Now then, Maring chan, let’s go sell off the trash it collected."

"Eh? Is that all right? You’re the one who collected it, aren’t you?"

"I just collected it in your place. Come on, let’s go together."

"O, okay."

I took Maring chan’s hand and headed to the collector’s shop.

"Oh, Marin, good work. Brought in more trash today?"

"Ah, um..."

"Yeah, I helped out a bit today."

"Kyupi!"

"Wh, what is that?"

He seemed surprised to see me holding the Slime Sweeper.

"So where should I put the trash?"

"Just dump it in that scale basket over there."

"Hmm, how much did it even collect? Let me lay it out beside it and check. Slime Sweeper, open collection."

"Kyupi!"

There was a tremendous rumbling sound.

"Whoa!"

"Wh, what is this!"

A mountain of trash piled up in an instant. No wonder, considering it had swept through the entire southern district.

"If I bought all of this, I’d go bankrupt..."

The collector’s face turned pale immediately.

"Well, can’t be helped. About how many baskets can you buy?"

"Ten baskets a day, that’s the most I can manage. One large copper coin for that."

"Wow, a large copper coin! Amazing."

I handed over ten baskets’ worth of trash. Somehow it didn’t look like the pile had shrunk at all.

"I’ll bring the rest tomorrow then."

I had the Slime Sweeper store away the remaining mountain of trash.

"Kyupi!"

The trash vanished in an instant.

"Wh, what was that? Some kind of amazing ability."

"Don’t worry about it. Come on, Maring chan, let’s head back to the church."

"Yes!"

Maring chan smiled, maybe happy to have somewhere to go home to.

"I’ll leave the Slime Sweeper with you. Bring it to the collector again tomorrow to put out the trash. Just tell it to put the trash out and it’ll do it."

"Kyupi!"

"Aww, so cute! Is it really okay for me to take care of it?"

"Yeah, just for a little while. Please look after it until the trash runs out."

"Yes! Take care of me, Sura chan!"

"Kyupi!"

Ahh, of course when given a nickname it ends up as Sura chan. If you go with the sweeper part it’d be Sui chan. Either way it overlaps with something some famous light novel author has already done. There are just so many slime works out there. Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s just go with whatever name Maring chan finds easiest to say.

...The Slime Sweeper made that little sound just now, that should be fine, right? I was picturing something like a Roomba, but honestly, back at my parents’ house we actually used a Sharp brand robot vacuum. That thing used to talk to you when you spoke to it. It was marketed almost like a pet, a member of the family. Maybe some of that image got mixed in too. I hope it doesn’t cause any problems.

After walking Maring chan back to the church and greeting Sister Anri, I headed back to the Coluna Frontier Count’s residence. On the way I listened to a report from Vickers, fifth in rank among the Ten Chick Generals.

"Yesterday evening I followed the older and younger sisters separately when they went out shopping, and confirmed what happened."

"How was it?"

"Frankly, it was bad. The older sister, Rem, is quite forceful and speaks with a lot of confidence, but she has no real eye for quality, so merchants flatter her and sell her poor goods at high prices. The younger sister is the opposite, too timid to negotiate firmly, and she also ends up being pushed into buying low quality goods at high prices."

"Do you have the names of the merchants?"

"Of course."

"All right, then let’s head to the central headquarters of the Commercial Guild in the royal capital."

I decided to march straight into the Commercial Guild headquarters.

"Welcome. Would you like to register as a merchant, or is this about a purchase? Just so you know, we don’t sell goods directly to individuals here."

Dressed in a robe, I apparently didn’t look like a merchant, hence the response.

"I want to buy something directly, but it’s not goods. It’s information."

I dropped a bag stuffed with gold coins onto the counter with a heavy thud.

"On top of that, I also have information to offer about several merchants in the western district. The reason I didn’t go straight to the western district’s Commercial Guild branch is that I don’t understand how the guild’s management structure works, so I wanted to come to headquarters to ask about that as well."

I negotiated with a somewhat forceful attitude. Merchants tend to take advantage if you seem too meek.

"Oh? You want to buy information, is that it?"

"D, Deputy Guild Master! Why are you at the counter?"

The receptionist looked startled. It seemed quite unusual for the deputy guild master to appear in person.

"I heard an unusual word, information. Normally information is something merchants earn on their own two feet and trade with each other little by little. For someone like you to pile up gold coins and openly ask to buy information, that’s rather rare."

"Th, this big bag... is that really gold coins!?"

The receptionist looked shocked.

"You can tell just from the sound. For a major merchant, exchanging that much gold isn’t unusual at all. You’re an adventurer, not a merchant, aren’t you? Which would make you quite a successful and capable one."

"It was mostly luck. I don’t know about capable. So? What about the information?"

"Interesting. Let me hear you out myself. This way."

"Eh!? The deputy guild master handling this personally? Is that really all right?"

It seemed unusual for the deputy guild master to deal with things directly.

"It’s fine. I’d like to build a connection with someone as capable as him. Ah, go ask Linda to bring some tea."

"Eh!? To Director Linda? I, is that okay?"

"Yeah, it’s fine. Just tell her I asked for tea to be brought."

"Y, yes!"

"Now then, please have a seat."

Sitting on the sofa I was shown to, I could tell it was quite luxurious. Fitting for a deputy guild master, I suppose.

"I’m Lonmel, deputy guild master of the Commercial Guild’s central headquarters here in the royal capital of Barlon. Pleased to meet you."

"I’m Yabe, an adventurer. Likewise, pleased to meet you."

"So then, what kind of information would you like to sell me?"

I took ten gold coins out of the bag and stacked them up.

"I’ll ask what I need for now. If it’s not enough, let me know."

"Ha ha... I like you. This is interesting. Ask whatever you like. This is quite entertaining."

Lonmel laughed. Honestly, this was someone whose depths I couldn’t quite read. If I could deal with him well, he’d probably become a useful ally.

"First, something close to headquarters. The handmade bread shop Mamma Miya has no customers at all these days."

"Hmm, you’re not suggesting that’s the Commercial Guild’s fault, are you?"

"Of course I am. That shop’s bread is genuinely delicious. If it were operating normally, there’s no way customers wouldn’t come in."

"Yes, what you’re saying makes sense. Actually that matter has reached me directly as well. It seems some people within the central branch of the Commercial Guild are applying pressure."

"That’s quite something. Mamma Miya does business in the royal capital too. Aren’t they a member of the Commercial Guild?"

I raised the question.

"Of course they are. But ever since the wife passed away, the owner hasn’t been showing up to the guild’s gatherings. And he hasn’t gone to greet the person in charge of overseeing that block either."

"That’s harsh, putting that on a stubborn craftsman and a daughter who isn’t even an adult yet."

"But that’s a problem on the shop’s side. Not a guild problem."

I sighed and scratched my head.

"So, who’s in charge of that district?"

"John, the butcher. His shop is in the same block."

"What does John like?"

"Ha, I seem to recall hearing he has a sweet tooth."

"I see."

I stored that information away and started working out a plan.

"Anything else?"

"Is Viscount Teraelo among the nobles the Commercial Guild particularly favors?"

Lonmel’s eyes sharpened for a moment.

"Well, dealings with nobles tend to involve large transactions, and every noble house is an important client in some sense."

"This is about Baron Harknar."

Lonmel’s expression shifted for a moment at that.

"Are you poking your nose into that?"

"No, not yet. I’m about to."

"About to, you say?"

"Well, I don’t imagine the Commercial Guild is actually involved in it."

I said it to him with a playful expression, releasing just a sliver of magical power for a moment. That one moment seemed to be more than enough for Lonmel.

"...You really are out of the ordinary, aren’t you. I’m glad it was me who ended up handling this."

"Here’s some information from my side too. At the diner Poporo in the western district, the father died half a year ago from a spreading illness, and the mother has been missing for about a month now. Right now it’s two young sisters struggling to keep the place from going under."

"Hmm... that does sound rough, but even so, the Commercial Guild can’t give special treatment."

"Is that so? Because it seems like special treatment is already happening, just in the wrong direction."

Lonmel’s mood turned a bit sharper when I said that.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Some merchants in the western district are tricking the sisters out of their money. Selling them fake cheap tea claiming it’s good quality, pushing rotten vegetables and scraps on them at high prices. If you’re going to tell me that it’s the fault of those who get tricked, then I’ll take that as the way this royal capital’s Commercial Guild operates."

I answered with a bit of an edge myself.

"Hah... this sort of thing never really goes away, does it. Cracking down on that kind of nonsense is also part of the Commercial Guild’s job. We’ll run a strict audit on the western district. Knowing you, you probably already have the names of the merchants, don’t you? It’d save time if you just told me."

I gave a wry smile and shared the names the chicks had gathered.

"Well, if it saves time, that helps me too."

I said that and started to get up from my seat.

"Are we done already? Information like what you gave me just now would be worth about three gold coins. But since you also gave me the details on the western district merchants, I’ll settle for two."

"Really? That helps."

I left two coins on the table, collected the rest, and stood up. But as I got up, Lonmel called out to me.

"I’d be delighted if these two gold coins could buy me some information about you too. The guest of honor at the Coluna Frontier Count’s residence, carrying a string of heroic tales, yet somehow still stuck as an F rank adventurer. Isn’t that right, Sir Yabe?"

Lonmel said it with a grin on his face. I scratched my head and replied.

"...I’ll come by again. Maybe then."

And with that, I left.